You and I
by orintheus
Summary: are partners, Hope. Hope/Lightning one shots.
1. Something to Be

**Something To Be_  
_**_For nit_legrasper. Chapter 11. Fang observes the unusual relationship between Lightning and Hope. There's a Sazh interlude 'cause he doesn't get enough luv. Also it helps if you listen to Boyce Avenue's Find Me when you're reading.  
_

There is something about Hope that drew Lightning in a way that most people could not, and at first Fang tries hard not to speculate on what that is. From as far as she could tell Hope seemed normal, an average boy barely weaned off his parent's love. She'd heard a lot about Lightning through Snow, too. She was stubborn, a little rough around the edges, leaving her sister to become independent. The description hardly matches what Fang saw when she first met Lightning, doting over a boy a good couple of years younger than she was, asking her for advice on what to do when you've taught someone all the wrong reasons for existing. Still, there's something about Hope and Lightning's relationship that piques her interest. Vanille is just as surprised over the two of them as well, buddying up to Hope and teasing him about it.

Fang understands Hope's attraction to Lightning: she provided stability when there was none. She instils confidence when he starts fidgeting with himself or can't quite find the words he's searching for. He looks to Lightning for validation, that he's done right in her eyes.

* * *

She gets a lucky break when Lightning leaves Hope and Vanille in her company while she and the others scout out the terrain. They had been walking for quite a while and although Hope hadn't complained, the others in the group could see his fatigue. Snow gives Hope one last pat on the back before leaving, which to everyone's horror, almost bowls him over. One harsh scolding from Lightning that Hope _bruises easily _and a couple of quick apologies on Snow's part and they leave Hope completely vulnerable. Fang approaches the tired boy with Vanille in tow. He notices their advance and welcomes it with a nod.

"Y'know, Lightning sure seems to like certain people better than others in this little group," she dryly comments.

He blinks, not quite comprehending what has been said. Then, as if a strong realization has dawned on him, places his hands on top of her leg. He smiles sympathetically at Fang. "Don't worry, Lightning didn't like me or Snow at first either. She'll come around eventually."

The awkward silence that follows is broken by Vanille's giggling fit. Hope quickly pulls his hand away from Fang's bare leg (blushing profusely while doing so). The whole incident becomes the butt of every joke Vanille comments on and because boys will be boys, Snow happily joins on the uptake. Lightning is far from pleased with Fang.

Hope is flustered for the next few days afterwards, shying away from Fang and trying to ignore Vanille's constant teasing. He is a fourteen year old boy after all, Fang reminds herself. Girls might as well be a different species altogether for Hope. He eventually musters up the courage to confront Fang on her strange behaviour.

"Why were you asking me about Lightning?" he prods.

"Just curious about your little friendship with Lightning, that's all."

He pauses for a moment and gives the only answer his mind can give on the subject: "I don't know but I'd like to know."

* * *

"You'll be alright, I promise." The edges of Sazh's voice cracks with emotion. He places his hand on Hope's shoulder. Hope is bewildered at the sudden change in Sazh but lets him linger a little longer than he should.

It feels right, almost comfortable and strangely familiar, as if Sazh has done this all his life.

* * *

At night, when everyone is asleep, Fang catches a glimpse of Hope's retreating form with Lightning trailing behind. She waits a little while for the two to return of their own accord, then picks herself up to find them. She spots them a short distance away from the campsite. Lightning with Hope sleeping on her lap, most likely dreaming of home.

"Well," she whistles.

"He wanted a better view of the stars." Lightning's fingers find their way to Hope's shoulder, brushing off the stray dust on his jacket.

"You've really taken a shine to him, haven't you?"

Her expression softens at the question. "He chose me to watch over him," she confesses. "I may not be the best person to offer him guidance but I'll try."

For the first time Fang sees it with the utmost clarity, this other side of Lightning that Hope has somehow, in his own clumsy way latched onto. This part that Lightning keeps locked away, frightened of being labelled inadequate or weak suits Hope's personality well. Maybe, because he never really needed a reason to keep fighting, all he needed was the confidence to keep going.

Fang hopes that the people who inhabit Pulse are just like her friends, her family. She hopes that they still have the closeness she was used to seeing when she was younger, even if they assume the outside world is evil, not that it matters to her whether or not she or Vanille will be accepted back because together, her friends have forged bonds stronger than prejudices, hatred and centuries' worth of war.

And that's something people on both Gran Pulse and Cocoon can never understand.


	2. Crossing The Lines

**Crossing The Lines_  
_**_Genderswap fic. Slight Lightning/Hope. __In which the boundaries between male and female are observed and possibly crossed._

He couldn't take it anymore, Snow was far behind him and so was Vanille and Sazh, leaving only Hope. The sun was setting and they needed a place to stay, along with kindling for a fire. The girl in question was lagging behind and generally making a complete nuisance of herself. She couldn't keep up with Lightning, stumbled on every damn thing on the trail and complained. Lightning stopped abruptly and addressed the girl, telling her if they didn't find any kindling they'd probably freeze to death. She went quiet for a few minutes, as if deep in thought.

"Don't look," she said with finality.

For the first time since abandoning the others, Lightning looked at her and what he saw was this insecure little brat of a girl too shy when confronted by a male of his calibre. Hope was a slim girl with an abnormally pale complexion, unlike those pin-up girls with big breasts, luscious curves and tanned skin that Lightning was used to seeing being flashed around his fellow soldiers during their breaks, probably a late bloomer too. She pulled off her jacket before turning around, from where Lightning stood he could see scrunched up rolls of toilet paper being pulled out and dropped to the ground. When Hope finally finished emptying out her bra, she was at least two cup-sizes too small for it. Lightning had heard of girls doing things like this just to fit in and often thought it a pathetic thing for a girl to do.

He collected up the tissue paper, while Hope tried to adjust her bra. "If you can't fit into it, take it off."

She squeaked at this, embarrassed by Lightning's bluntness on the subject but having no other options, obeyed. She moved towards the pile of debris they had stopped beside and pulled down the top part of her dress in order to take off her bra. Lightning (using one of the flints he'd packed before telling his boss off) began to make a fire. The toilet paper made for good kindling, a few sparks set it off. Hope came back from her hiding place behind the twisted pieces of metal, trying in vain to stuff the bra into her handbag. In frustration, she tossed the article of clothing into the fire, parked herself far away from Lightning as she could before collapsing into a fitful of sobs. Lightning pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation, he couldn't understand girls in general but this one in particular was baffling beyond belief, why did she follow him? It would've been easy enough to follow Sazh and Vanille, they were the sympathetic kind of people that Hope could identify with. As much as Lightning wanted to abandon the girl, she wasn't educated enough to be on her own. If she was willing to learn, adapt to the environment she was in, it would've made her presence a little more bearable.

He had his own problems to worry about, though. There was the question of getting to Eden without being detected and how much time he had to actually get there. Snow was in another category all together, with her brash arrogance, the assumption that she could handle everything and everyone. Lightning didn't have time to patronize Hope's trivial insecurities of being a girl and a l'Cie.

"Here."

The girl's voice snapped Lightning out of his thoughts. Hope still looked like a mess but at least she had stopped crying for now, her orange sweater was back on and in her hand was a stick of gum, held out like a peace offering. Lightning shoved the gum away from himself. He knew the girl meant well all the same and instead fished out a cigarette in his pockets, carefully letting the fire graze the tip of it. He took a few experimental puffs from the cigarette, jamming it into the side of his mouth once he was sure it was lit properly.

"It's all I have," she sniffed.

"You done? Crying, I mean," he said through the smoke.

"I guess."

They lapsed into a sombre stalemate, Lightning content with the silence and distance he was so used to. Hope trying to keep her distance from the man and his smoke. Truth be told, Hope felt a little ruffled at Lightning's presence. He wasn't grabby or as chatty as Vanille was but he was an aggressive male, which made him all the more intimidating, an ideal soldier with an iron will that reminded Hope of her mother. He had pink hair and though it would've looked unusual on any other man, it suited Lightning. She wanted to be strong, but that would be a steep learning curve. Hope wasn't too sure if Lightning would be willing to teach her, he was too immersed in his own problems, all the adults seemed to be. If she volunteered herself maybe Lightning would be willing to teach her.

Lightning took another drag from his cigarette, he'd reached a decision. "Listen, I can't keep babysitting you. This is where you and I part ways, you can do what you want."

He picked up his things, putting out the cigarette on the heel of his shoe. Hope felt completely devastated as her only source of protection prepared to walk away without her, she wanted to say something to him but his mind was made up, nothing would've have made him stay. As Lightning turned to leave, he felt a burning sensation on his chest where his mark was, manifesting itself into physical power that enveloped him. He could only watch helplessly as the power became a solid being that reached out to the girl, scattering the embers of the now dying fire. The girl leapt away from the monster's grip. She cast a few blizzard spells trying to keep the creature at bay, healing Lightning when it felt safe to do so. This was it, her chance to prove herself as his equal, and she wouldn't squander it.

Lightning picked himself off to join Hope, taking a good look at the creature. It was a large human-shaped thing with armour. Electricity pulsed through it, as the monster took another swipe at the girl with its monstrously big sword, scattering rose petals. Lightning grabbed his own sword from its holster, switching it to a pistol and shot a few warning rounds at the thing but it seemed more interested in the girl as it lurched to where she was.

Hope tossed a few fire spells, hoping the brunt of it would stagger the monster enough to gain some distance from it. Lightning leapt up on the thing, digging his blade into the armour. It swayed this way and that, Hope looked on in horror as the man and the metallic monster swung in a macabre dance. She watched Lightning slip, tossed off of it like a bucking bronco and aimed a well-timed thunder spell at it.

It staggered at the strength of the blow, she hit him with another thunder spell and a fire for good creature flared up, rose on his haunches but collapsed, disappearing just as abruptly as he had come.

She offered her hand to Lightning who was on the ground where the creature had left him and genuinely impressed by her quick thinking. He grabbed her hand and pulled himself up, dusting himself off. He whispered a gruff thank you to Hope, volunteering himself as her teacher. He gave her a rough pat on the head in acknowledgment. A little dizzy from the touch, she followed Lightning towards the Gapra Whitewoods, where she would hone her skills and finally confront Snow.


	3. The Petrarchan l'Cie

**Petrarchan l'Cie_  
_**_Lightning/Hope - the rest of the team tries to help Hope with his crush. Disastrously. Title definition: the Petrarchan lover usually pursues a stoic, older woman and is known to write poetry about her exaggerating her good qualities._

It occurred to the rest of the team(quite early on) that a certain young member was falling into the stereotypical role of the lovestruck pursuer. The other role of the pursued, was of course filled by someone so cold and indifferent that a little encouragement from the others was needed. Snow being the vainglorious team-leader took it into his own hands, that and being the one in the most progressed relationship, he later proclaimed made him the best candidate for the job. This was something that Fang scoffed at and Vanille giggled at. Sazh kept quiet on the subject, having not had a vicarious thrill since his son was born, and very grateful that he didn't, decided Hope had enough common sense to not take advice from any of the young adults in the group.

Snow confronted Hope, so lovesick that he'd begun picking up random flowers and doing the clichéd loves me, loves me not game many girls his age partook in. Worried for Hope's wellbeing, Snow pulled the flower away from the young l'Cie. The conversation started casually, talking about that crazy time when he almost tried to kill Snow and meeting Mr. Estheim, slowly edging its way to Lightning. Lightning, Snow started, liked combat-ready men and would need someone as tough as her.

"I dunno," he said. "She's a commando. I'm just a simple ravager."

"You know what you have to do."

"Level up my commando paradigm?"

And thus he did, the whole ordeal left Lightning baffled for she wasn't one to dwell on Hope's unusual behaviour or any sort of emotional response, when it came down to it. She patted him on the back for the effort and told him to go back to being a ravager because he wasn't an efficient commando, plus they already had her, Sazh and Fang which suited the team just fine. Hope would've been disappointed at the reaction but was too busy bandaging up his wounds he got while trying to do damage as a commando. After that was done, he went back to mutilating the flowers on Pulse in defeat.

Vanille volunteered her knowledge to the boy, having been in a relationship for a good hundred years (and counting) suggested the shy school girl routine, tough girls liked being in charge and the whole virgin mystique made for good foreplay. Hope didn't know much in terms of sexual contact, and assumed foreplay meant something more innocent. He tried Vanille's suggestions, tripping up when Lightning was looking and being a little standoffish to her during the most trying times. A good example would be when she received a particularly nasty scar from a Behemoth, he'd blushed and said he was much too squeamish to fix the wound. She pressed the back of her hand on his forehead in response, fearful that he'd been badly poisoned. He couldn't go back to his flower picking because they'd stopped at a place far away from them, he had to make do by grabbing Sazh's chocobo chick, pulling at the poor thing's baby feathers, muttering how he couldn't even make it past the foreplay.

Both Sazh and Snow were alarmed at Hope's words and immediately went to Vanille for an explanation. The girl in question was puzzled at Sazh and Snow's frantic words, which they explained that the consenting age was higher than what those on Gran Pulse were used to.

Upon learning this, Vanille was horrified at her Cocoon-native friends. "The consenting age is eighteen? Me and Fang did it when I turned thirteen!"

Sazh and Snow made a mental note to keep Hope away from Vanille, in case she tried anything.

Fang's tactic was stranger than everyone else's mostly because she enjoyed the thrill of chasing down those she liked. She recommended the aggressively coy strategy. Something that worked really well with Vanille and was guaranteed to make any woman swoon(she'd had practice before actively pursuing Vanille).

An intriguing secret kept their curiosity on you.

Slightly flustered by Fang's bird and the bees speech (and a couple of very graphical stories of her conquests), he half-heartedly tried Fang's approach. He leaned into Lightning's ear and whispered something about an interesting secret Vanille told him about Pulse.

Lightning, too focused on cleaning her gun, gave a quick response of. "Uh-huh, very interesting."

He dropped out half-way through the whole thing and conceded defeat. Fortunately, the chocobo chick had learned to stay away from Hope, lest it wanted to go bald.

Stretching the limits of his patience, Sazh cornered Hope and deftly explained to him certain rules when it came to courting and dating.

"Listen, the best thing to do is candidly tell her how you feel. Maybe she'll accept you, maybe she won't but you're young and whatever happens we're still here for you. Lightning will too just say whatever's in your heart. And don't forget flowers, girls like it when you put out, even the tough ones."

Hope took Sazh's advice in stride, afraid of messing up the last chance he'd have with Lightning. He picked up the most presentable flowers on Oerba, which wasn't much considering the whole place had become a semi-barren wasteland teeming with monsters and combed through his hair as best as he could. He approached Lightning, shoving the flowers in her face. He began speaking rapidly before she had a chance to shoot him down.

She wordlessly pressed her fingers to his lips, cradling his hands in hers, trying to calm Hope down from all the shaking he probably wasn't aware he was doing at the time.

Sazh smiled as he watched the two reacquainted themselves as friends turned lovers usually do.

Old Man: 1  
Rowdy Young Adults: -3

But who was keeping count, right? 


	4. Tectonic Shift

**Tectonic Shift_  
_**_Role reversal: Lightning and Hope are the crystallized intruders on Gran Pulse, Fang and Vanille are assigned with the task of getting rid of the Cocoon natives. Hope/Lightning._

Waking up in the abandoned Earthworks leaves Hope feeling a little light-headed, his brand is burning and Lightning is sleeping on the ground next to him. She comes to and is just as puzzled as he is. The bright blue lights of the experimental facility are replaced by the heat and sulphur in the air, all she can see is dirt browns. She breathes, they're not in Gapra anymore. Hope, however is too engrossed with his brand, pulling back the yellow handkerchief that covers it and poking at it. She can see it, looking like a strange disfigurement on his skin, a nasty frosted colour over the standard black. The memory of how it came to be like that still fresh in her mind. Too much pain and screaming. She reaches out and pulls his hand away.

Hope stops. "It burns."

Her brand thankfully, is still the same.

The mines are stiff from disuse, lights hanging overhead flicker on and off from time to time. They get lost along one of the passages, only to find their way back to where they woke up. Hope dawdles behind, just like he did in the Gapra Whitewoods, clinging to Lightning for both safety and reassurance. She doesn't deny him as much as she used to when they were both l'Cie starting off. It was a bizarre set of circumstances that led to it, him accidentally wandering into a Fal'Cie lair on his way home from school, a shortcut he used often; her, willingly volunteering herself to be marked and being assigned Hope as a partner to train.

Hope is enchanted by the rusted machines found within the caverns. He presses his hands on the dead pieces of machinery, trails after the Atomos Fal'Cie and it's only then that he realizes something truly horrible. This isn't Bodhum, Palumpolum, this isn't even Cocoon.

This is Pulse.

He knows, the people are miners, farmers. People on Cocoon do not have mines, they never needed it. Not when the Fal'Cie(at least before PSICOM took over) provided everything.

He recognizes a few other artifacts he's sure is from Pulse. Lightning is adamant that they aren't on Pulse. The argument takes an ugly turn when magic gets involved: in a fit of raw emotion, Hope unleashes a firestorm that nearly collapses the already crippled mine pinning Lightning to one side and himself to the other. From her side, Lightning screams at Hope to stay where he is. He doesn't listen, picks himself up and leaves Lightning pleading to the air.

* * *

Sazh is aware of the rumours surrounding the Mah'habara Earthworks, there are crystallized Cocoon natives somewhere in one of the winding paths. The mine hasn't been in use since pieces of the above world rained down on it around the turn of the century, after Gran Pulse emptied the nest of vipers above. Cocoon. A distant memory but an enticing piece of history to a six year old, Dajh is already running up to the mines and before Sazh can call out to him, bumps into a boy barely on the cusp of adolescence. He blinks, then walks away looking as lost as ever.

He doesn't think much on the boy, there are villages spaced out on the Archlyte Steppe. Most are farmers living off the land. Close to Namva live Chocobo farmers, where generations ago Sazh's ancestors once made their living. He drops by every now and then to catch up with some of his friends.

* * *

There's a voice coming from the depths of the mines, at first Sazh thinks nothing of it. Air coming from one of the many tunnels or tiny creatures making too much noise but as he draws closer to it, he's certain it's a human. His suspicions are confirmed when he finds a collapsed passage. Someone is frantically screaming from the other side.

In between the stranger's ragged breaths Sazh manages to get a few words in, telling the person to calm down and that he'll get her out. He claws his way through the rubble, with the girl tearing down anything in her path. When they finally do meet face to face, Sazh is surprised. The girl looks in her early twenties and has a surly disposition as she wordlessly pushes past him into one of the larger passages. Her clothes are strange and he can't quite place her accent, maybe one of the tribes living close to Taejin's Tower?

She asks him about Cocoon, she shouldn't be by herself, Sazh knows this. Dajh doesn't seem to mind the extra company either, as he quizzes Lightning on everything and Sazh can see her trying to be gentle but struggling not to snap at the boy's inquisitive nature.

Pulse is more homely than Lightning initially imagined, people come and go from Sazh's house (if it could be called that). Sazh himself doesn't mind the intrusions, doesn't mind people poking into his cupboards and taking what they need.

It's not enough to deter her from marking Dajh, she does it with the moonlight as her witness and all she can think of is how much warmer Hope's hands were when she held it.

Sazh is spiraling from the discovery of the mark. The villagers of Paddra are sympathetic to his pleas, they offer brief condolences before pointing him to Oerba, the largest and most diverse village on Pulse. Surely, they would be able to provide answers where others could not.

* * *

The village elder assigns Fang to Sazh.

Fang starts talking about Focuses, Cie'ths, marks and other terms that hasn't been used since the War of Transgression.

As they are immersed in their conversation, Vanille bounds in with a sullen looking boy, whom Sazh recognizes from the Mah'habara mines.

Fang watches the two out of the corner of her eye, how the boy had managed to survive the journey from the Archlyte Steppe to Taejin's Tower was a mystery, Vanille had only gone there for prayers to their benevolent Fal'Cie and found Hope on the brink of death, leaning on the entrance way. Since then, they were inseparable; Vanille always seemed like the doting type to Fang.

Hope misses Lightning terribly. He'd even gone back to Mah'habara for her but she wasn't there, he'd kept moving just like she'd told him many times before. Eventually he'd made his way to the ends of the tunnel straight into Vanille's sympathetic arms. She dotes on him and as the days pass by, Hope can see more of his mother in her than he ever did with Lightning.

He shows Vanille the mark when they are supposed to be asleep. Slowly, he unravels the handkerchief covering the mark and as it catches in the candlelight, he hears her gasp. She runs her fingers along it, grips Hope's wrist as if unsure of what to do or say. Dajh too is watching from his spot close to Vanille and at first neither notices until he runs up to Hope and grabs at him, nearly tipping over the candle.

For a brief second all is still as Dajh crystallizes in front of them.

* * *

Their reunion is nothing short of heartbreaking. Hope is shaking from either relief or just sadness, Lightning holds him tight. Fang tightens her grip on Vanille.

Sazh can't bring himself to confront Lightning, can't scream at her for what she did to Dajh, not when those same hands that cursed his own son holds onto Hope's in such reassurance. He understands that it is not an act of cruelty that she marked Dajh but one to preserve the love she shared with Hope.

* * *

Their former home is falling on their new home, Hope understands the sacrifice they must make for their new family. He nods to Lightning, who is holding his hand. Above them, he can hear Vanille's cries. It's hard not to imagine her disappointment, not after her invitation to live the rest of his days with her on Pulse. He takes a deep breath, Lightning reaches her free hand to his.

They hold onto each other, diving deeper into the depths of Pulse.

And when the smoke clears, they are still holding onto to each other, long after Hope's parents are buried in the ground, and even longer than Serah and Snow have been married because all they had when waking up was one another.


End file.
